Plan of Attack for Holiday Shopping

Black Friday (11.26.10) and Cyber Monday (11.29.10) are surely sneaking up on me this year. I have never once been to a Black Friday event - in fact, I steer clear of the mass chaos whenever possible. This year, however, I will be losing my Cyber Monday virginity and participating in some of the online deals. I am really looking forward to this because I am doing all (or most) of my holiday shopping online this year and certainly love to save a few pennies when I can. In order to maintain some order, I have some thoughts for preparing for either shopping holiday.



Step one: Christmas music is a must. Fine if you insist on waiting until the day after Thanksgiving.

Step two: Detail a list for whom you are purchasing gifts this year or what you are looking to buy as a gift to yourself. This would also be a good time to consider a budget to avoid going overboard when you get googly eyed by the sale prices.

Step three: Make sure to get a newspaper on Thursday because it will have all of the best deals for you Black Friday patrons (and probably a few surprise coupons as well).

Step four: If I was to plan a Black Friday trip I think I would probably start at a department-ish store or somewhere that has the majority of the gifts I plan on buying so as to kill as many birds with one simple stone.

Step five: Determine a plan of attack - what time will you arrive to your first store? What items will you plan on purchasing at each store? What time does each store open? When do the best deals begin and end?

Step six: Go to bed. Early. And set the coffee to start brewing before you get up. Make extra. Set out all of the coupons and random shenanigans you need to take with you on your shopping extravaganza.

Or if you're like me and will be doing your holiday shopping from your fingertips, grab some hot cocoa and peppermint shnapps, crank up the holiday tunes and put your pajamas on and...

*Make sure that you're registered for e-mail specials from your favorite retailers so you can begin preparing your plan of attack come Monday morning. If you are not receiving these e-mails - go to their website and look around to figure out where to sign up to be on the e-mail list.

*Browse the web for specials - figure out when the various retailers will be having their online holiday specials. Many will be on Cyber Monday, but some will also take place on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, over the weekend, and even extending all next week. You need to know these in order to take advantage of the lowest prices.

*Instead of waiting until Monday to figure out what the deals are, create your Christmas shopping list and seek out to find what your retailer(s) of choice are offering and when. Be advised that like Black Friday Early Bird Specials, Cyber Monday shoppers need to pay attention to time frames on sales.

Happy holiday shopping!